Showing Results for "perceived"

See Also:

• past tense form of perceive.
• past participle of perceive.

perceived

American  

[per-seevd] / pərˈsivd /

adjective

1. taken in by the senses; heard, seen, felt, etc..

   Spontaneous memories are activated by specific signals from the parts of the brain that deal with perceived stimuli like smells, pictures, and words.

2. detected, discerned, or recognized, often without corroboration by others.

   He fails to appreciate that the perceived "backlash" against his post was not an expression of reluctance to accept change, just disagreement with his specific proposal.

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of perceive.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unperceived
  adjective
• well-perceived
  adjective
• perceivedly
  adverb
• perceivedness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of perceived

perceive ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Explanation

If you sense something is true by instinct, but not necessarily by fact, you can describe that sense as perceived. If you suspect that your neighbor's dog might be dangerous, you can say the dog is a perceived threat to your family's safety. The adjective perceived has its Latin roots in per, meaning "thoroughly," and capere, meaning "to grasp." Today it retains a sense of grasping something mentally or sensing it. Oddly, the word has two conflicting meanings: first, something you infer or suspect, rather than detecting with your senses. The second meaning, however, is quite the opposite: something sensed through your actual senses, especially those of sight or hearing.

Example Sentences

Perceived conflicts of interest contributed to the OpenAI board briefly ousting Altman before he was later reinstated.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 12, 2026

There is an overwhelming sense of Constantly Being Perceived, even if it doesn’t always show up on a day-to-day basis.

From Slate • Feb. 12, 2026

Perceived safe havens, such as gold and silver, continued their record-setting rally.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 19, 2026

Perceived cognitive difficulties were measured using Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System, and objective cognitive performance was assessed using the National Institutes of Health Toolbox V3 Cognition Battery.

From Science Daily • Nov. 27, 2024

And proud that they alone on earth Perceived what might have been his worth, They would have kept their leader's name Linked with a fragmentary fame.

From Ionica by Cory, William (AKA William Johnson)

Related Words

• anticipated
• recognized